Tarun Tahiliani closes Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn Winter 17-18

Combining sensuous occasion-wear with dramatic flair, the avant-garde designer fashions a lovingly handcrafted collection which is homage to construction, draping and fit. Inspired by the nomadic beauty of Indian tribes and mingling it with motifs from Mughal armory-inspired art, the Autumn-Winter ‘17collection is a bohemian rhapsody of sorts.

“It is a pleasure and exciting to be showing at the Amazon India Fashion Week Finale. A culmination of a week of ideas of where Indian fashion will head, the definition of new trends, and what are the ‘Fresh New Looks’ – which is the recurrent theme and a signature campaign by Amazon Fashion. This is also a fusion of ideas as I show alongside one of my old protégés who has morphed into his own master with mastery over his own particular techniques and sculptural fashion. Not a jugalbandhi but derived from the same sources, while the rivers of creativity flowed down different valleys – eventually it all ends in the sea, from the great deep to the great deep it goes. So, how along the way is the transformation back, and this ‘Fresh New Look’ from a fountain that leapt into its own universe”, says Tarun Tahiliani on showcasing at AIFW with Amit Aggarwal.

Glimmers of rich jewel tones which include renditions of capri emerald, midnight lapiz, rich claret, indigo, spicy reds, aubergine and aged rust along with black, cream and beige are at play, celebrating the onset of the Fall.Embracing a multitude of techniques and designs – including laser etching, zardozi, resham-thread embroidery, digital printing, aari work, fringingand velvet accents aretwisted with contemporary silhouettes on rich fabrics such as silk, chanderi, satin, georgette, khadi, and velvet. Innovatively engineered garments with cascades and cowl drapes on gilets, capes, concept sarees, jumpsuits and dresses reflect the design house’ take on the modern urban tribal – Indian but global.

The ready-to-wear line is an extravagant visual tour-de-force. Traditional artistry mixes with nuanced, contemporary silhouettes. Artfully divided into categories, it showcases the designer’s unsurpassed mastery in different forms of workmanship. Take, for instance, the Polka range with incredible polka patterns made using Ajrakh on jumpsuits, dresses, tunics, gilets and shirts on rich heritage fabrics. Or the Kasuti collection, which is a kaleidoscope of geometric and organic patterns which takes inspiration from bidri art and is beautifully highlighted on capes, draped tunics, kurtas and jumpsuits. The Chikankari collection is accented with intricate resham embroidery on damask prints which shimmers through on kaftans, gilets, Grecian dresses, kurtas with attached dupattas and concept saris. The Mondrian Damask range, as its name suggests, is colour blocked with dramatic motifs inspired by Piet Mondrian’s paintings and art.